Inside MX-5 Cup: Ethan Goulart makes a name for himself in the rain

 

A pair of new faces in Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin are not just battling for the Rookie of the Year honors – and the big scholarship money that comes with it – but looking like real threats for the overall championship as well.

Ethan Goulart is one of those new faces. With his victory in the most recent race at Mid-Ohio (above), driving the No. 29 Saito Motorsport Group MX-5, he’s not only propelled himself into the rookie fight with Noah Harmon, but with a little bit of consistency in the final six races, he could easily be contending for the overall championship.

Eight months ago, Goulart was in a different fight with Harmon, trying to claim the SCCA Spec Miata National Championship in the Runoffs at Road America. Starting on pole with no less than his father, four-time SCCA National Champion Elivan Goulart, alongside him, the race turned into a battle between the younger Goulart and Harmon. When the checkers flew, Goulart ended up the youngest SCCA National Champion in history at 15 years and 174 days old, and this in one of the most competitive amateur road racing classes.

Fast forward to June 2025, and Goulart is racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a track he hasn't seen before – and with rain falling, too. With the help and advice of others, including his father casting a keen eye on the previous races during the IMSA weekend, and his own careful observation during the warm-up lap, Goulart found the grip, made the winning move and took his first win in MX-5 Cup.

“It was definitely really cool,” he says of that breakthrough victory. “Being a rookie just made it 10 times more gratifying. It was good in the moment, right? And now we're on to the next weekend at [Canadian Tire Motorsport Park]. But I can't thank the whole team enough, the Saito Motorsport team and SCDA track days. This past year-and-a-half has been really good for me: being the youngest National Champion in the SCCA Runoffs in Spec Miata, having a first MX-5 Cup win this year, plus having my podium debut at Daytona, too, is all really cool.”

Rain may be the great equalizer, but in a series of equal cars at a repaved track, the playing field was about as level as it could be.

“I don't think it could have gotten more equal,” says Goulart, “because nobody has really driven on that track in the rain since the repave. But I actually hadn't even been to Mid-Ohio before. That was my first time and I'm still fairly new to these cars as well, so I think that just made us even more of the underdog. But we were able to get the job done.”

And he got it done in conditions that were tricky and ever changing.

“The way the track dried and developed, it was so drastic,” he explains. “The way the puddles were developing…some spots would dry very quickly as the laps went on, and some would stay wet, and then some would actually even move to different spots as the water streamed. So, it was definitely the wettest in the beginning of the race, but what made it so tricky was on-and-off rain. You'd get 10, 15 minutes of dry, and then it would just start raining again. That's what made it so tricky trying to read the track.”

The win, after some rough races, has him in the thick of the rookie fight with Harmon. But while Goulart certainly covets the Rookie of the Year title and the award that comes with it, he's looking for even more, and sees himself in a good position to achieve it.

“I have my eye on Rookie of the Year, but I also have my eye on winning the overall championship,” he declares. “I don't think any true racing driver shows up to race a full season without having their eye on a championship. So that's my main goal.”

Like many ascending pro racers – and endurance sports car racing is his aspiration – Goulart started on the Mazda Motorsports ladder. While part of choosing MX-5 Cup just makes sense to continue on that path, he says the well-built, evenly-matched cars and great people were a big part of it as well. But, ultimately, he knows it's a great proving ground.

“Mazda Motorsports has always put on a great ladder program with grassroots racing, and it really gets your name out there in the IMSA paddock,” he says. “This is like the pinnacle of Mazda's ladder, right? It's just so competitive; you have probably at least 10,15 guys who could win at any race. So if you win one of those races, you're getting your name out there. And this was one of the things that we thought was best this stage of my career, right now, to help me progress to the next level.”

With a victory in MX-5 Cup, he's certainly getting his name out there. Now he's looking to get it engraved in the record book with a championship.

All Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin races are streamed live on RACER.com and archived on The RACER Channel on YouTube. The 2025 action continues with rounds 9 & 10 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ont., on Saturday, July 12, and Sunday, July 13. Plus, find all the latest series news at mx-5cup.com.